Heritage Language Identity Questionnaire

Language and identity are closely interlinked, but we rarely question what this means. The questions below will help you gain a better understanding of the role of language in your life – from emotional attachment to practical needs. The questionnaire is designed for parents or carers in multilingual families, who are looking to "pass on" their language to their children. It works best if you complete it with *one* language in mind (called "family language" in the questionnaire) - if you are looking to pass on more than one language, you can repeat it and focus on other languages - one questionnaire per language.

The questionnaire, and the advice and information given, is based on previous research*. Your results will give you an idea of how you might talk about language with other people in your life, for example family members. You might want to ask them to complete the questionnaire, too, and compare and discuss results. It is expected that most people will have some sort of connection with all four quadrants (just because you have a strong emotional connection to the language doesn’t mean that it isn’t also good for future job prospects), and it is also expected that attitudes will fluctuate over time, in accordance with big family events, recent experiences, etc.

The questionnaire is completely anonymous, and no personal data will be asked for or shared.

This questionnaire and accompanying materials have been funded by the British Academy. By filling in the questionnaire, you agree that The University of Sheffield may publish the results anonymously for a number of purposes, including research, reports, or training materials, on the internet or in print.

*Little, S. (2020) Whose heritage? What inheritance?: conceptualising family language identities, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23:2, 198-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1348463

Little, S. and Lahmar, J. (under review) "Understanding parents’ pragmatic and emotional attachments to “their” language in multilingual family contexts: exploring self-assessment options for family well-being"

If you have any queries or comments, please contact Dr Sabine Little (s.little@sheffield.ac.uk), telephone 0114 222 8089.

All questions followed by a red asterisk (*) are required.

How old are you? *

Do you identify as male / female / prefer not to say / prefer to self-describe? *

If you have selected 'prefer to self-describe', please provide details:

Which country do you currently live in? *

What would you class as your own “first / best" language, i.e. the one you are most confident in? *

If you have more than one "first / best" language, please provide details:

Please tick which of these most closely describes the adults in your household (NB: we use the 'society language' as a term to describe the main language in your country around you – the language of school, the law, main media, etc. We realise that there are many multilingual countries, and it is almost impossible to create a questionnaire which covers all eventualities. If you feel misrepresented, please choose 'Other', and enter manually): *

Do you have children? *

If you have selected 'other', please enter details of your household below:

The questionnaire will ask about parenting ideas, to understand your link to language in an intergenerational context. If you do not have children, please answer these questions hypothetically, i.e. “If I had children, I think I would feel like this”. This will give us important data about thoughts from people before and after they have children.
How many children are in your family, and how old are they?

Which language/s are you (personally) seeking to pass on to your children? *

If you have selected 'more than one', please provide details:

Which language/s is your partner seeking to pass on to your children (if appropriate) *

If you have selected 'more than one', please provide details:

The family language is necessary to be part of our local community. *

The family language is vital for us to connect to our cultural roots. *

When we go on holiday, it's nice for the child to speak the language, so they can find children to play with. *

Speaking the family language makes life easier for us. *

Studying/working in the country where our family language is spoken is a future possibility for my children. *

In our community, you fit in better when you speak our family language. *

I feel guilty when I don't use the family language in the family. *

It is a cultural expectation that our children will learn the family language. *

We have a strong community in the family language around us. *

Speaking the family language makes travelling easier. *

Speaking the family language will enhance future employment prospects. *

It is necessary for my children to speak the family language, to support social family cohesion. *

It's nice to see my child communicate in the family language (with other family members) when we visit the country. *

I often worry about my child not being or becoming 'good enough' in the family language. *

We encounter the family language daily outside our home. *

My child could get by without knowing the family language. *

I sometimes refuse to answer my child if they don't speak the family language. *

We use our family language to pray/access religious services. *

Knowing the family language helps me access more opportunities. *

I don't particularly mind whether my child learns my language or not. *